77 comments:

Good morning, C.C. and gang - nice baseball theme, and an interesting, albeit easy, puzzle. Very unusual to have a Tuesday unknown, but I had one with 'Yesterday, to Juan'/ayer. 'Molto vivace' was another one of those phrases I had no idea I knew, but once I had mol__, it just popped out. I'm sure I'll be using it in conversation a lot today...

C.C., 'anth' is short for anthology.

Today is U.S. Coast Guard Day. Always under appreciated until someone needs them.

Wow! I was awoken by a barrage of thunder and lightning. It was in the distance, but the thunder was almost continuous. When I looked outside, the rain was very heavy, but the lightning was not a threat. "Mother Nature" was at her best; giving back nourishment while wrecking havoc. My plants, herbs, flowers, tomatoes, beans, squash and peppers are all OK. It was "Mother Nature's" way of taking care of things, and in my case, without distruction. To her I say ---- Thank You!

Good Morning, All: Another easy puzzle today with America's favorite sport as a theme.

In line with today's theme, this is also Roger Clemens birthday (1962). Back in my younger days, I loved just 2 blocks from Fenway Park and would go to as many games as I could afford just to see him play. I wonder if he was doing steriods then?

Eight of the 9 current Supreme Court justices attended either Yale or Harvard. Only Justice John Paul Stevens attended school outside the Northeast Ivy League. He went to the University of Chicago and Northwestern Law. If Sotomayor is confirmed, Stevens will remain the sole justice who did not attend Yale or Harvard. Sotomayor attended Yale Law.

MOLTO was an unknown, as was NAN. I misspelled IMAM as IMAN. I think the latter is the name of the model married to David Bowie. I also had trouble with SWATH and MENLO but I was able to work through it. It wasn't easy because I've found this website chinesepod.com and I was listening to one of their lessons while I did the puzzle. Yes, I was multitasking today.

O.K. Just got a clap of thunder and lightning at the same time. The storm is heading my way. I can smell the ozone!

Argyle: I love ya like a brother, but after my post yesterday, you still took a bite of the apple. You do not need to defend Tarrajo, and more importantly, DO NOT RESPOND TO THOSE IDIOT ANON MESSAGES!!!! Pete Seeger said in "Where Have All The Flowers Gone", "When Will They Ever Learn?"Hopefully, you'll learn TODAY!!!I love ya!!

Just one comment on 'anon'. If you realize that this person's sole reason for posting is to garner attention, then it should be a simple matter to not give him what he wants. Rather, every time you see one of his posts, think about how miserable his life must be if this is all he has. As much as I'd like to put our friend in the hospital, I look at his posts now and feel a bit of pity. This is the best he can do; he can't fit in to a normal conversation.

Anyway, please just ignore the posts; they'll be disposed of as quickly as possible.

Good morning C. C. and all, an easy Tuesday puzzle for me. I got the theme immediately after the first and second theme fill. Struggled a bit in the west central section until I got triangles then that area fell.

C. C. , I liked your interview with Merl Reagle. I found it very interesting with lots of insight into his thinking process.

Buckeye, I want to say you are appreciated and loved as much, or more, here than you are in the lurking woods.

thought of you c.c. with today's theme, which presented itself quickly. the fact that it involved idioms and not names, made it solvable for me.

as i was solving, the two clues that i didn't love were 'greet casually, with to,' for SAYHI, and 'spicy asian cuisine' for THAI. as often happens, looking back after solving they seem fine. i would never define THAI that way, so it requires a little extra thought to fill. exactly what a puzzle should do.

A fun somewhat challenging puzzle for me today. Once I got “out of left field” and “hit a home run” the theme became apparent and that always helps me on my quest. I got a little red letter and perp help with mako, anth, molto, nan, adar, and Iago. My favorite clue today was “sources of romantic conflict – triangle. I don’t understand the “old ads” part of the Ajax clue as I still use it.

Hi everyone!Today was a little more challenging than yesterday, and I was searching for the right idioms with the first theme answer--thought of "out of the blue", "out of nowhere". Once I got that they all were related to baseball, and no names were involved, it was easy.

Mainiac,BODE is used in the expression "this does not bode well" when something looks ominous.

Melissa B,Sorry I somehow missed that it was your birthday yesterday. Hope the celebrations were/are wonderful.

Regarding Obama's birthday, did you see the item yesterday about the stupid bogus Kenyan birth certificate some idiot manufactured for him? The city given as the birthplace was not even part of Kenya then, and Kenya was not a republic until later. The lengths some will go to to disrupt history!

"Peen"...where did we hear that lately? "Imam"...been seeing that a lot, too. Back when I celebrated All Hallow`s Eve, I often dressed as a witch (some people said it was type-casting) and a raisin was my nose wart...

Buckeye: You`ve waxed philosophical...what`s going on witchu?

tarrajo: Once when I watching my daughter`s children after her surgery...we were playing "restaurant/cooking" in the yard. The ten year old took my order for salad with bleu cheese dressing on the side. The six year old, wearing a drag-the-ground apron and stirring dirt and leaves in a big bowl yelled, "All our cheese is auwinge!"

I really enjoyed today's puzzle. I got the theme RIGHT OFF THE BAT. I HIT A HOME RUN and didn't DROP THE BALL once. None of the answers were OUT OF LEFT FIELD. The few things I didn't know - like AYER - were solved with the perps.

What do you want to bet that folks like Lou Dobbs and Rush Limbaugh, who don't believe the Hawaiian birth certificate certified by the Republican governor of Hawaii, will be quick to 'believe' the clearly fake 'Kenyan' document. SIGH!

Elissa: On the birth certificate thingy...What goes around is all fair in love and war...and the shoe just happens to be on the other party...that`s all. People will believe what they choose to, no matter what Limbaugh, Clinton, Dobbs or Pelosi says (unless they do their own research.)

Today is the L.W.'s birthday, (along with some guy named Barack.) She loves going out to breakfast so we did that.

Ain't Misbehavin' is one of my favorite old songs. Here it is by Fats Waller, himself, complete with some old time tailgate trombonerizing.

One of the reasons I do puzzles is to learn the meanings of those Italian words I sometimes find on my part. vivace is lively - that's easy enough. And MOLTO loos enough like multi to mean, more or less, lots of, so it's all pretty straight forward. But a gray-haired old trombonist needs all the help he can get. If he can remember.

Good Morning All, I had no problems until I added POSTS BAIL for 10D. It didn't take long until I realized that 10A wasn't POVE, 16A wasn't OPEX and 19A wasn't SALE. That messed up my "once through and done" idea.

I really liked the theme answers today. They were fun and perfect for Tuesday difficulty.

I know it wasn't part of the theme, but 39D SHOW TIME reminded me that playing in the major leagues was called "The Show" in the movie Bull Durham.

Tarrajo, Your recipe sounds fantastic. Nothing can beat a good bleu cheese dressing on a crisp salad. How is LGJ's eye?

I don't believe that "All's fair in love and war", at least it shouldn't be. Here's the origin of the phrase. "The proverb is frequently used to justify cheating."

Commenting on the "birthers" is like answering Anon.

Brother Buckeye, love you too.

Did C.C. really get to meet Buckeye recently? Is he as devastatingly handsome as we all suspect he is?

It looks like we can click on the stars for WM's painting at least once a day. After I "5-starred" it yesterday, the stars stayed red. When I went back today, they were yellow again, so I clicked on the fifth star again, they went red and the count went up. Like I said yesterday, Vote early and vote often.

One more thing...If you would like to compare how Kathleen's painting is doing against the competition, here is the Art Catagory Only. There are a LOT fewer pages to go through. As of this morning, her painting is on page 7. It looks like it has more ratings than any of the other entries. Let's see if we can boost the rating from a four star to a five star. Even if we didn't know the artist, the painting is the most original, interesting and well executed one in the contest. Oh yes....IMHO. Good luck, WM!!

Lots of fun with this puzzle. I didn't know 38A (AYER) but the perps solved it. 5D (AMBLER) stumped me for a short time. Couldn't help thinking of Buckeye's friends the Hammer family when reading 23A (PEEN).

Re Ajax: I still use it on occasion but there is better stuff on the market now.Anyone remember Old Dutch Cleanser? ("it chases dirt")

CA, good to know about voting for WM's painting. I gave it 5 stars too and will again.

JD, (11:18) well said...the 'doubting Thomases' never watch or listen to another point of view for comparison.

Buckeye, watch out when sitting in those metal chairs with a storm brewing. The sky might not be the only thing that 'lights up'...'course with you, that might not be a bad thing-LOL.

Not a lot to say about the puzzle. I finished, and that made me feel good but no giggles. Good thing I’m not blogging it, I guess.

TarraJo, I was reading a quilt blog this morning that made me think of you. The blogger gives a recipe for chocolate zucchini cake, and curried zucchini soup, an then says………...Do you know what Zucchini Surprise is? It's surprise! A dish that doesn't have any zucchini in it!

Hello All--Good puzzle, good theme, and done in good time. I enjoyed going through and not having to Google. Ayer was easy as we lived in a Spanish speaking country for two years. I do love those Spanish words, but French sends me to my dictionary muy pronto.

I thought Bleacherites sounded like a made up word but it is in my Webster's.

On our local news last evening there was a short blurb on people who do puzzles. For every day one does puzzles or other mind stimulating exercises it delays your memory decline by 2 months. Sooo we on this blog are really adding to our memory banks by doing our LAT every day! Go Bloggers.

Linda that was a cute story regarding the auwinge cheese. I don’t know about you but the Subway sandwich shop near my home always asks if you want “white” or “yellow” cheese on your sandwich. To tell you the truth I don’t even know what the cheese selections actually are!

Clearayes, well it’s a shiner alright, and a pretty shade of purple this morning. He was embarrassed to go to day camp today, not looking forward to all the questions it would evoke. I told him to stand tall and tell them nothing if that was what he wanted to do. He’s still smarting at Sierra jumping in.

BarbB, good to know there are other people in my predicament with the zucchini. I think I will make Zucchini Surprise myself tonight.

C.C. I meant to say this earlier. You did a fantastic job on that interview. You should feel proud of yourself. Also, your Grandmother must have been a wise woman if she listened so much.

JD: Did you leave which "group" you were refererring to, ambiguous on purpose? If you did, it`s probably better that way. Otherwise, some of us might get those "emotions" (per Buckeye) riled and become off-ended. There are those of us who "research" each claim, no matter which "side" promotes it. I refuse to have my thinking done for me, even though I consider myself a conservative. Just sose you know there are those of us on the blog, too.

Ok, I had to share this one. There's actually a web site that tells you when, in a given movie, is the best time to make a dash for the restroom. You think some people have too much time on their hands?

Ok...I soooo overslept this morning and then I wanted to read that fabulous interview and then the blog and now it is after noon and I haven't done anything, except boost my brainpower, which will be needed for the rest of the day.

Fairly easy puzzle but I really messed myself up in the NE corner by putting in BAILS????. Apex worked and I filled in BOLT for 10A and then got stuck because I knew it was KALE and had to erase and start over...:oP

Once that was done, the rest moved along well...also got hung up on AYER and always forget Menlo Park even though we have a Menlo Park nearby.

Thank you to all of you for rating my painting! You are all so terrific and thank CA for the link...I hadn't figured it out. The overall rating and "vote" will count in the selection of the top 10 in each of the two catagories. Then, if I make it, they will start all over again on Sept 16th.

In the early 1900s to the 1920s a style of music developed in New Orleans spread to other parts of the country, particularly Chicago. This new music, often labeled as Dixieland, was the first example of what is generally classified as "jazz." Dixieland jazz was performed by smaller groups, usually for dancing purposes. The band--usually a trombonist, cornetist, clarinetist, bass instrument (either a tuba or double bass), chordal instrument (either a banjo or piano), and a drummer--would advertise their dance by marching in parades or playing in a wagon pulled around the street of New Orleans. The trombonist, in order to have enough room to maneuver his slide, would sit at the back of the wagon, giving the name "tailgate trombone" to this style.

You can expect a brassy sound and lots of glissandos (smears.) The Fats Waller link has a wonderful example. And here is another one.

Ooooh - I loves me some traditional Jass! Here it is in Hungarian! With lots of close ups of Bela's Pea Shooter.

Good afternoon, everyone. (Whoops, I first typed morning. But DH & I went to the Apple store's genius bar for a problem with my new iTouch. Then had a Star$, and by then it was time for lunch. That's why I am confused about what time it is.)

Don't lurk, Buckeye. You're too wonderful to not be here daily.

Great puzzle today. I could do it! And got the theme. Only unknown was martial arts school. I liked Make a sharp turn.

JD and Linda, agree with both of you; we need to do our own thinking and research.

What I've noticed on both sides is that there are groups of people who do a lot of research, but only on one side of the picture. They know dozens of arguments for their own side, never really consider the other side.

Happens with bible studies and spirituality as well.

It's tribal thinking, and very unhealthy.

I like this group because there's a minimum (if any) of that kind of talk.

Dennis, sex and crosswords, the fountain of youth?

If men had to submit to a test for prostate similar to a mammogram test, I doubt they would be so cheerful about it.

C.C.--My favorite dressing is bleu cheese. I had to smile as I came to that clue because I was eating breakfast as I did the puzzle, and, as I rarely eat traditional breakfast foods, it so happened that I was munching on raw carrots and bleu cheese dressing!

Tarrajo, glad to hear the eye is healing. His ego will as well. Mine still does although it takes longer the older I get. While playing goal line defense with both kids during a break in the 05 Superbowl I yanked my oldest's leg out from under him. His hands were on the football and fell face first onto the cement floor (we have flooring now but Pergo wouldn't have helped). No blood, just broke his front tooth in half. Got it repaired, which hurt the wallet and the wife kept my ego injured for weeks, but it healed. Until he lost his balance getting into the truck one day and he fell face first onto the dash board. Out popped the repair onto the dash, another round of ego bruising and a $300 visit to the dentist and everything has healed again. I've informed him that when he turns 18 its his problem as I'm certain that between now and then I will pay, in numerous ways, again, and again..........

I have another one concerning my youngest and skiing I will save for another day. Although thinking of snow is a rather pleasant thought. It's wicked hot up here again! My thermostat just isn't set up right for this crap.

Good puzzle today. I got the theme right off also, and that helped, but nothing was too difficult. Unknowns were MOLTO and AMBLER, and unfortunately, they crossed. Figured it was an M though. NAN was also new to me, but got it through the perps. I was stumped as when they referred to bread, I was sure it was their currency. Was refreshing to have it actually be bread this time wasn't it?

I too visited the Alamo, earlier this year. It is a nice city to visit, and a good tour. I like to do the American history things when I travel. Not much for just sitting around.

Buckeye, we could use some of your storms here. So dry in our immediate area. Good to see you so early, don't lurk. I too wonder if CC really met you.

Martin, a guy multitasking? Really?

BLUE cheese AINT my favorite dressing. I actually don't like blue cheese at all, but love Champagne vinaigrette. If you marinate your onions in it for a long time before you put them in your salad, it takes the edge off them. Very good.

Thanks for the info on voting for WM's artwork. I did put in the 5 stars yesterday, but didn't know if that meant I voted. I will do it again today. I suspect if you log on to the same work again, and you don't get a blank slate to re-vote you could just erase your cookies. Usually that would do the trick so you could vote again.

RE: Show Us Your America Contest. KQ is probably right about the cookies. I don't keep them from day to day, so maybe that is why I could vote again.

There is nothing in the Rules Voting Criteria that indicates an entry can only be rated once per person. There isn't any indication that, after September 16th, there is any rule against multiple votes for an entry. Go for it!

Jeannie, as long as the stars underneath the painting are white, you haven't voted. Just click on the star farthest to the right. The stars should then be all red. Exit...that's it. Your rating/ vote will be added to the total count.

Both quite uncomfortable. I'm talking about taking your (almost)most sensitive body part, stretching it until you fear it will be torn from your body, then putting in in a contraption much like a mangle, applying bruise-level pressure, that puts you on your tip-toes, and then, as your eyes cross from the pain and indignity, being told not to move until further notice. (While the technician runs for cover.) Radiation exposure is no small worry.

Haven't heard of a comparable test for men.

I'm not saying they aren't useful and often life saving. But they do not work on certain types; only ultra-sound or mri works for some people, but insurance does not normally cover those procedures. So when I asked my doctor why I'm supposed to endure all that for something that won't work for me, and exposes me to radiation, he says 'well, it's all we have."

Sorry. wrong answer. I don't believe he would do it either, under the same circumstances.

Dennis:Could you tell me, offline, just WTH Maniac is talking about?BarbB: Dennis beat me to the question above, but it is fair to say that none of the exams mentioned above, along with a few others, is designed to promote dignity. They are necessary, though. JassBumpa: Passed through TTown about 10 this morning, outbound from AA. You asked, rhetorically I'm sure, "What is politics?"Here are two definitions I've seen and like. Politics is:#1 - a system for allocating scarce resources# 2 - a process used to determine who is "in" and who is "out"there are other, and more complicated, definitions, but these two came from a textbook on Political Science. But if there is any truth in these definitions, the discussion of politics is not something to be avoided in polite company, but rather a minimum responsibility for anyone who would claim the status of citizen. As for religion, the other "to be avoided" topic, I read very widely on the subject. Even though I am what could be called, if one wished to be delicate, a skeptic, I read widely on the other side of the argument, as well as in the source literature. Ironically, of all the books on the subject I have read over the last several years, the ones most offensive to me have been those by the militant athiests, namely Hitchens, Dawkins, Harris, et al. If you want to read someone with no axe to grind, try anything by Bart Ehrman, a professor of New Testament religion at the Univ. of North Caroina. Linda, JD, CA, et al, if a person does not read (and consider) the arguments of the other side, that person has no basis for determining where the truth might lie. But anyone who can find the truth in anything that comes from the mouth of Rush Limbaugh or Sean Hannity is being willfully gullible. They are by definition propagandists, the truth exists in them only accidentally. Long post, I'll be one and done tonight. One last thing:

Lois , you haven't sold those pictures to the National Inquirer, have you? Send my cut.

Just did a test on WM's site. Went to ClearAyes' link. Her piece is on page 8 now, so wondering if they don't put the new entries on the first page, the later ones move down. Then I clicked on the last star and closed out that tab.

When I reopened the tab, it had my stars highlighted already, indicating I couldn't vote again. I closed the tab again, erased my history, reopened, and same thing. All the stars were already red.

I closed my browser completely. I have an add-on to Firefox that erases all the cookies that were added during a session when I close the browser, so that erased my cookies. Then I reopened my browser, went to that page and went to WM's entry. The stars were again white, indicating I could vote again. So erasing the cookies will allow you to revote.

Wow, long explanation, sorry, but the gist is, if the stars are already red, erase your cookies, and you can vote again.

WHSome tests are necessary. I'm all for doing anything that will prolong health and life, dignified or not. I get dental x-rays whenever they're needed, and went through some rather comical, undignified experiences during pregnancies without complaint.

I just erased a lot, because I tend to get carried away about this subject.

Wanted to add to your comment about religious studies. I studied under Steve Delemarter, not as famous as Bart Erman, but an intelligent and gifted professor. He points out all the inconsistencies in scripture and challenges his class to deal with them. For him the bible is not a holy book, but a book written by men about their personal experiences of God. They would have to write from their own perspective and from within their culture, and you are "reading someone else's mail" 2000 years after the event.

In his Old Testament class, he doesn't allow the use of commentaries. The net effect of that experience was the reinforcement of my faith.

Linda, I was not referring to any particular group, just that there are many people who do not think for themselves, definitely not in this group, but how many times have you received e-mails that carry false information about anything, and still forward it?

BarbB,I believe that you and I share this quality: we expect people to know why they believe what they believe.

And, as I have said to you before (or thought I did, at my age the two often run together), I would much prefer that you are right and I am wrong. The justice due to be meted out would alone make it worth it for me to take my chances. In any case, I respect your position, intellectually, theologically, and personally. I would love to sit down with you someday and talk about these things.

CC, I do not understand your question. I said it was a great interview, and that you always seem to ask just the right questions. I don't know enough about crosswording or the people who create them to ask questions. Mine would show my lack of knowledge. I loved that he started off by putting the kids'names in a puzzle.

KQ--If you want to get Merl Reagle's Sunday puzzles, go to: games.latimes.com, and click on the Sunday puzzle link. For now, you can get the last five weeks, and future puzzles beginning next Sunday. He's so clever, and the puzzles are lots of fun. This past Sunday's puzzle was especially creative and enjoyable!

Windhover, I remember just last year when a poster said that if an atheist were elected President it would be the very worst thing that could happen to this country. As I recall, there was some enthusiastic agreement.

Although belief in God and Jesus is regularly mentioned here, it is a statement of faith and not really open to discussion or debate. So, discussing religion on a blog like this can be a very dicey matter. Skeptical is one thing (there is always hope for you), but anyone who came out and said, "I'm an atheist" might not fare as well.

Barb B and Windhover: I recently heard a theologian say this "God never intended a prophet to speak for Him...He intended to speak to man directly. But when He came down on Sinai...it scared the people so badly that they told Moses to talk to God for them." I went back and reread the passages..and it proved to be true! John Denver didn`t have it so wrong after all! I believe He still can speak to us if we can distinguish His voice among the many talking. This is my litmus test: If there comes a good thought...I know there is no good thing in me (and the dark side of the spirit certainly doesn`t have anything good to offer...)and if it lines up with His written Word, especially if I hear the same thought from more than one souce within a short period of time...then I believe that is God talking to me. I would be crazy if I didn`t believe my Father and Creator could communicate with me.

That`s why I`m an avid student of the Word, because men have been known to get it wrong...through the ages. When I watch a historical movie...I research the facts...and I certainly don`t take everything a teacher/preacher/news commentator says as Truth. I do my homework there, too.As a close friend of mine (with little education but great wisdom and an even greater faith) says; "Every tub has to sit on it`s own bottom." Finally, my son says, "No matter who you`re watching/listening to, you have to eat the meat and spit out the bones." I hope there are few "bones" here.

Do you live in AA? That is within striking distance. I might be induced into buying you a beer.

I actually wasn't asking a rhetorical question about politics, I was just being silly. (I know - hard to believe.) The reasons for avoiding the discussion of the forbidden topics in this blog, as I see it, is there is a time and a place for everything, and this is not the place.

My blog is - and I will entertain all reasonable discourse there.

BTW - Hitchens is an obnoxious blowhard (as well as a drunk,) and not to be taken seriously.

C.A. -I don't know about last year, but there was a recent comment about the possibility of an atheist president that I remember, and I've only been commenting here since April. IIRC, my smart-assed response was, "I pray for the day there will be an athiest president." Though I realize that there is NO chance of that in this country, it is a fantasy I like to entertain. And, there was some enthusiastic agreement with THAT as well. I sincerely believe that a right-thinking person with respect for the fundamental human dignity of others will walk the right path, irrespective of the nature or even the presence or absence of religious beliefs.

c.c.,No, I haven't done any of Merl's puzzles, but am going to try that website to see what they're like. Looking forward to it.

On religion, since so many of the world's religions have basically the same tenets relating to human relationships, I don't think it matters what religion it is for each person. The golden rule exists in them all, as CA said, and that's the most important one to remember as far as your affect on those you interact with or have power over. As far as what we each believe, that is indeed our own private matter. If you want to minister to the heathen, do it by example.

C.C., I am sorry to hear that your Tuesday was tiresome. I hope you found solace in your bath as I did after tending to Brady. Here are some roses and petals to ease your pain. I hope you are channeling your Grandma's aura as you soak, as She seemed very wise and soothing to you.

Please Insert Semi Obligatory Puzzle Comment(s) here.OK! *Nice clean puzzle with a well-clued theme. *I learned that AYER means "yesterday" in Spanish--not too far from "hier" in French and "ieri" in Italian, which are words I haven't yet seen in a puzzle. *Someone needs to think of a better clue for NAN (49A). Ideas?? *MENLO (Park) is an anagram for LEMON and MELON [Jerome is rubbing off on me!] and the home town of the first girl who broke my heart. It was summer camp, she was in 8th grade and I was in seventh.

I bet most everyone has a Jenny (or Joey) from Menlo Park hidden in their past. She was the kind of girl who probably went for the long-haired drummer in a garage band, not the tall skinny kid with a "kicka__" chemistry set. (lol)

Please Close with an Appropriate Non-Sectarian Apolitical Comment:Good night, all.